This tunic is another gift from my friend Megan Mae! It's cool because it's a cut that's flattering, in colors I like, soft, comfortable fabric, and it pushes my comfort boundaries a little because it has a pattern on it. I'm liking it more and more each time I wear it.

Something about tunics and longer pieces is comforting in cooler weather. My father wears women's fleece jackets because they are tunic length, instead of stopping at the hip. I always hear him in my head saying, "Keeps mah buns warm!" in his gravelly way. He's a life experience, that man.

Aaaaand I can move in them! Stretch fabrics are my friend. I think this company is worth checking out in the future. They go from size 00 to 16. (This isn't sponsored, I just get excited when I thrift jeans that fit.)

Thanks to two alert readers who point out to me in my last post that 'vera pelle' just means real leather in Italian. Everything else written on the tags, like "echtes leder" also means real leather, or says it's certified genuine in Italian, so I guess it is brandless. I'm a little disappointed I can't track down my coat's relatives through the Internet.

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I like all of the individual pieces in this outfit a lot, but I wish I'd had time to look at the proportions in photographs before I went. This was one of those "augh what do I wear" combinations that I settled on after trying on several tops and jackets, and those are always a mixed bag.

I did get numerous compliments on the shirt, which was awesome. Unfortunately for folks who asked, it is 14 years old, purchased at a little indie shop across from UC Irvine that no longer exists, and the brand has zero online presence. -_-

Good news: I finally found a pair of black skinny jeans that fit! I've been looking for half a year, and this pair fits really comfortably. I can sit down without my thighs feeling like they're tied up like a roast. AND they actually fit at the waist! (normally I have to size up a few to get jeans that fit my legs) They are literally mom jeans: the brand is called Not Your Daughter's Jeans. Hah! (Take note, other lady martial artists and women well-endowed in the thighal region. They only go up to size 18, though.)

Bad news: I made a mistake not wearing them under a dress or tunic. My thigh to ankle ratio is quite large because genetics and wushu are an unstoppable team. My friend's fashion adviser told her that boot cuts are not flattering, period, and that skinny jeans that fit just look better. Last time I'm trying that advice.

The top and jacket both have high necks and emphasize the shoulders, so I think this outfit accentuates all of my stocky areas at once.

What I should have done is check my blog, since the last time I wore this shirt, I also wore black on bottom and a leather jacket (I am predictable), but the proportions were much better. Loose trousers + tight shirt = my friend. Sometimes I get carried away trying out different fits for kicks and forget about tried & true.

I'm not sure what to wear on bottom to balance out this jacket's shoulders and high collar. Maybe fall back on my old standbys, bootcuts jeans + chunky boots? I was born with only 6 cervical vertebrae instead of 7, and I have large trapezius muscles, so I should deploy high collars with care. Are there particular collar shapes or necklines that you avoid?

I like how this outfit came out! I think next time I would like to wear a chunkier-soled shoe or a color that is higher contrast with the jeans. This is probably my love of large chunky shoes/boots talking. I would also like to get the sides of the coat taken in so it's less boxy. The coat, a very lucky thrift find, appears to be vintage, and made in Italy. A keeper! Alterations will happen when I have moved and worked a bit to refill the tuition-and-rent-drained coffers. :D

I love the comfortable fit of this thrifted dress, and I've searched in vain for more of them, but the styles change each year, and the brand Old Navy isn't high end enough to be worth reselling on eBay.

I can't decide if I feel comfortably sexy with the back cut this wide and low, or just weird to have a giant piece of backspan showing. This being San Francisco, I am always wearing at least a jacket and a scarf over it though, so it's not something I have to deal with in public.

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We're finally getting some much-needed rain here in California, after the driest year on record. (that's right, in 163 years!) I'm trying to be water-responsible while appreciating the weather anyway, since I have no control over it. It's the first year in Daly City that my apartment isn't growing rampant mildew/mold on the walls, so on a personal level it's nice not to walk around attacking the trimming with a spray bottle of vodka every day.

Personal style has been in flux due to circumstances. First, I packed away most of my Steampunk items along with my fairweather clothing when temperatures dropped in November. Then temperatures went back up and it never rained/got cold again, but all I had in my closet were my cold weather items. Then I finished school and started packing and now everything is in boxes.

I hope to someday live in a place large enough for me to unpack all of my clothes, because having gone through the whole Aya wardrobe and packed it in 4 cardboard boxes now, I must say: I have nice things! Some cool combinations occurred to me while I was putting everything away that I hadn't thought of because stuff just can't all be out at the same time.

I should have known you and I wouldn't work out, San Francisco: the minimalist wardrobe is not for me, and you won't date anyone that doesn't make the millions of dollars necessary to afford a single family home. It was fun while it lasted; so long, and thanks for all the thrift.